Need help with tank ideas

Hi All

Im thinking of starting a betta and friends tank. I have a 1ft tank with a resun power head foam filter (200l an hour) and a small sonic air pump spare. I would like to know what else do i need eg lights heater and so on ive got enough plants and rocks so im sorted there. What other fish can i put in with a betta? The reason for thinking of a betta tank is ease and low maintance what other fish could i use which are firstly cheap hardy and look good.

 

you'll need a heater 50 watt should do the trick and yes lighting. i'm not a light expert but i think led's will look nice.

Search some of the post for led lights and how to make it work

Regards

F

 

just a suggestion - while not all bettas are as nice as mine is - some won't tolerate tankmates at all - I put some endlers in with mine (also in a 1ft) and they are great. Colourful and active tho tiny. I also have a friend who has white clouds in with hers. And yeah, you will need heater and lights as Fonkie said. Good luck!

 

Hey one foot tank i.e. 30cm? if the total volume is under 30lt I wouldn't go for more than 25 watts for the heating for reasons discussed here:http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...hting-requirement-and-12l-heating-requirement

You may also find that the flow rate from your power head will be way too much for a tank that size, also remember Betta fish prefer calm water which is closer to their natural environment. Long flowing thins and a lot of current = exhausted, stressed fish. I attach a piece of sponge to the outlet on all of my betta tanks filters to break the current which seems to work, can get annoying with changing out the sponge though. You may want to consider just using a small sponge filter that you attach to the air pump, they are not the most effective but in a small setup I have found them to be sufficient (also cost very little) and have noted others use them too.

Also not a light expert but I use the clip on fluorescent fixtures, managed to get some hardy plants like java fern and moss to grow under them and they look really stylish, at least IMO better than a black plastic canopy on the smaller tanks. Do a search for nano tanks in google and on the forum if your looking for more inspiration, I really like the bonzai style tanks, and the rock garden types (which are really easy to achieve, simply place a few rocks and one or two tall plants, fill the gaps between the rocks with java moss, and presto beautiful low tec and low maintenance planted scape).

As for other fish you are quite limited by the volume available in a setup like that, I would say a betta is your best option for a striking visual.

 

The reason for going 1 ft is my big hexagon tank is way to much work and expensive fish wise. i dont have time to clean big tanks so ja smaller seems better for now

 

@Carp king, if I were you I'd rather set up the bigger hexagon tank. The bigger the tank, the less work you need to put into it (rule of thumb). Reasons for this are:

1. More water volume means more stable water parameters
2. If lights go out, more water will keep heat more easily
3. Low biolode (few fish) in a big water volume can generally mean less frequent water changes
4. Evaporation on a bigger tank doesn't become as much of an issue as in smaller tanks (you don't wanna come home after a cold weekend with a cracked heater coz your 1 foot lost too much water to evaporation)

Hope this helps.
More experienced people feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

 

+1 Lowflyer, very good advice